Mumbai: The Maharashtra govt’s decision to make a domicile certificate and knowledge of Marathi mandatory for obtaining badges for aggregator cab and bike-taxi drivers from Aug has sparked concern among a section of drivers, especially migrants who form a significant part of the app-based taxi workforce in Mumbai and other cities.Drivers say they fear the new norm may have unintended consequences. A large number of app-based cab drivers in Maharashtra are migrants from states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. Aggregator companies rely heavily on this workforce to meet the demand in metropolitan regions. Drivers argue it is difficult to attract enough local residents to drive long hours in the sector, making migrant workers indispensable to maintaining fleet strength.“Who will benefit from this?” asked Ola driver Akhilesh Mishra, adding he believes the market could shrink if many drivers fail to obtain the required documents. A reduction in the number of drivers, he said, would lead to longer waiting times for passengers and higher fares due to supply crunch.The govt’s stated objective is regulatory uniformity. Transport department officials said drivers of kaali-peeli taxis and autorickshaws have long been required to possess a public service vehicle authorisation (PVSA) badge, which involves domicile verification, police checks and basic knowledge of Marathi. By bringing aggregator cab and bike-taxi drivers under the same framework, the state aims to create a common set of rules for all passenger transport operators.Former aggregator cab driver Shahnawaz Hussain questioned the rationale behind linking domicile to professional eligibility. “If the govt introduces a policy, there should be a genuine reason and some benefit attached to it,” he said. He warned that thousands of drivers who already provide reliable service and maintain strong customer ratings may be forced out of the system despite years of experience.Drivers also point to practical difficulties in obtaining domicile certificates, describing it as a time-consuming process that often involves significant costs. While the govt sees the rule as a tool for regulation and verification, many in the industry fear it could disrupt livelihoods and reduce transport options for commuters. Ultimately, the success of the policy will depend on whether it balances regulatory oversight with the realities of Mumbai’s migrant-driven transport economy, said a transport analyst.Keshav Kshirsagar, Maharashtra Kamgar Sabha, a union of aggregator cab drivers, said: “Making domicile certificates mandatory for drivers may appear to favour locals, but in practice it is unlikely to achieve its objective. The reality is that obtaining a domicile certificate is often easy, with unscrupulous agents helping applicants secure documents through fake rent agreements and other forged records, sometimes charging hefty amounts. We have already seen this happen in the autorickshaw and kaali-peeli taxi sectors. As a result, no driver is likely to be pushed out of the system.”The move also comes amid the rapid growth of unauthorised bike-taxi services. The govt believes a badge system will help identify drivers, improve accountability and ensure that only verified individuals are engaged in public transport services. Officials argue that the domicile requirement is not a new policy but an extension of an existing rule applicable to other categories of commercial passenger vehicles.

Mumbai: The BMC standing committee on Wednesday approved an amnesty scheme to grant occupation certificates (OC) to buildings which did not have these although families were already residing in them. Less than two weeks ago, members of the standing committee had sought a review of the amnesty scheme.On June 25, the committee had sought clearer provisions, accountability mechanisms for developers and architects, and incorporation of corporators’ suggestions before approving the proposal.The proposal, first tabled in April, was not taken up earlier after committee members expressed reservations over the clause restricting eligibility to housing units with a carpet area of up to 80 sq m or 860 sq ft. BJP Leader of the House Ganesh Khankar said for many years, ordinary Mumbaikars had suffered due to negligence of some builders and architects. In the absence of OCs, citizens have faced various penalties, difficulties in redevelopment and other obstacles, while many buildings have become dilapidated.Standing committee chairman Prabhakar Shinde said the draft incorporating corporators’ suggestions regarding the amnesty scheme had been sent to the state govt on April 15. He said suggestions made by members had not been rejected and were in the interest of Mumbai citizens. However, he questioned whether citizens should be denied immediate relief until those suggestions are implemented.Shinde further said directions for implementing the amnesty scheme were first issued on Dec 11, 2025, and many citizens had been anxiously awaiting the proposal. Approving it now, he said, would provide urgent relief to middle-class and weaker-section families living in homes of up to 80 sq m. According to Shinde, he was hopeful the state govt would take a positive decision on the draft. However, he said the proposal needed to be passed so relief could be granted to Mumbai residents without further delay.Corporator Makarand Narwekar said every Mumbaikar living in a building without an OC was waiting for an amnesty scheme through which their homes could be declared authorised. An amnesty scheme is not a law or statute and cannot override Development Control Regulations (DCR) or the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (MMC) Act. Therefore, fears that dilapidated buildings or those violating fire safety norms would automatically receive OCs are unfounded, Narwekar added.The state urban development department had, in Dec 2025, directed BMC to implement an OC amnesty scheme by extending eligibility cut-off from March 25, 1991 under the earlier scheme to buildings occupied before Nov 17, 2016. As per the scheme, only buildings with approved plans, valid Intimations of Disapproval (IODs) and Commencement Certificates (CCs) would qualify. Residential buildings, hospitals and schools occupied before Nov 17, 2016, will be eligible. For residential properties, the benefit will be restricted to flats measuring up to 80 sq m (around 860 sq ft) of carpet area.The scheme also allows cooperative housing societies, developers and, in certain cases, individual flat owners to apply for OCs through registered architects or licensed surveyors. Applicants will have to furnish proof of occupancy before the cut-off date through property tax records, electricity bills or other official documents. The scheme will not legalise unauthorised constructions but will grant OCs to approved portions of buildings that remained without OCs due to procedural or compliance-related issues.

People at a protest for restoration of power supply in Vasai-Virar

Vasai-Virar: Although the rain eased on Wednesday, floodwaters continued to inundate several parts of Vasai-Virar, resulting in a drowning and leaving thousands of residents stranded indoors for the fifth consecutive day.Many localities were without electricity for more than 72 hours, triggering protests by angry residents in Nalasopara. People said they were suffering sweaty nights without fans and had run out of drinking water at home because pumps could not function.Hundreds of residents gathered at Moregaon and blocked the road, raising slogans against the administration and MSEDCL. A large number of women participated in the protest.Similar protests were reported from Achole and Santosh Bhuvan. As protesters warned that they would not leave the spot until power was restored, police officers rushed to the spot and called MSEDCL officials. The crowd dispersed after electricity was restored in some areas.Vasai-Virar received more than 1,482 mm of rainfall in the first week of the month, resulting in widespread flooding across the city. Several low-lying areas of Vasai, Nalasopara and Virar remained waterlogged. The Tulinj police station in Nalasopara and the Vasai railway police station were also among the waterlogged spots.With two to three feet of water on several roads, both public and private transport services remained disrupted. As in previous years, tractors were pressed into service to ferry people through flooded areas. Tractors stationed near railway stations and bus depots charged Rs 50 per passenger. The Ro-Ro ferry service between Vasai and Bhayander remained suspended.Though local train services resumed on Wednesday, operations remained heavily affected. On Tuesday night, suburban trains were terminated at Vasai station, forcing hundreds of commuters returning from work to walk along railway tracks between Vasai and Virar after midnight.Angry passengers also surrounded the motorman’s cabin of a local train stationed at Vasai and demanded that the service be extended to Virar, leading to tension for a while.Pelhar dam, one of the reservoirs supplying water to Vasai, continued to overflow. Papadkhind dam in Virar reached full capacity.Civic officials clarified that no water would be released from the dam and appealed to residents not to believe rumours.A 22-year-old woman drowned after falling into a drain at Richard Compound in Nalasopara (East) in the afternoon.The deceased, identified as Kavita Jaiswal, was a native of Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh. According to the police, she had come to Nalasopara to visit her sister along with her brother.Around 1.30 pm, Kavita, her sister, Renukumari, and their brother were walking near the drain at Richard Compound when Renukumari lost her balance and fell into the water. Kavita jumped in to rescue her but was also swept away.Residents rushed to help and managed to rescue Renukumari but Kavita drowned before she could be pulled out, said senior police inspector Sachin Kamble of the Pelhar police station.Floodwaters submerged MSEDCL’s main substation, several transformers, distribution boxes and underground power infrastructure, disrupting electricity supply across many areas.Localities, including Cheda Nagar, Patankar Park, Yashwant Gaurav, Hanuman Nagar, Sai Dham, Chandan Naka, Alkapuri and Agrawal Nagari in Nalasopara, were without power for over three days.“We have been without electricity for the past four days. Our children are suffering. We have never witnessed such a situation in the last 25 years. We don’t even have water for our daily needs. Corporators come only to seek votes and disappear afterwards,” a resident said.Maniklal Rathod, superintendent engineer of MSEDCL‘s Vasai Circle, said power supply was being restored in phases.Ajit Igatpurikar, deputy chief public relations officer, Konkan Region, MSEDCL, said several transformers were still submerged. “Electricity has been disconnected in many areas as a safety measure. Power supply will be restored as soon as the floodwaters recede,” Igatpurikar said.

Railway officials said restoration work on the remaining two lines is progressing on a war footing.

MUMBAI: Train services on the Mumbai–Pune rail corridor resumed on a single line late on Monday night after remaining suspended for around 44 hours due to landslides at two locations in the Lonavala ghat section, even as Central Railway continued intensive restoration work to bring the remaining tracks back into operation.Rail traffic on one of the three lines in the Khandala–Karjat ghat section was restored at 10.30 pm on July 7, allowing the first trains to pass through the affected stretch under strict speed restrictions. Railway officials said restoration work on the remaining two lines is progressing on a war footing and they are aiming to reopen another line by late Wednesday, subject to weather conditions.The first train to use the restored route was the 11013 Lokmanya Tilak Terminus–Coimbatore Express, which crossed the section at 12.45 am on Tuesday at a restricted speed of 30 kmph. It was followed by the 11041 Dadar–Sainagar Shirdi Express at 1.57 am. In the up direction, the first train to traverse the section was the 12702 Hyderabad–CSMT Hussainsagar Express, which passed through at 5.09 am.The Khandala–Karjat ghat section consists of three railway lines covering about 27 km each, forming an 81-km network through the steep terrain. Railway officials said the most severe damage was concentrated along a 12-km stretch between Thakurwadi and Khandala, where multiple landslides deposited large quantities of mud, rocks and debris on the tracks, disrupting one of the country’s busiest rail corridors.More than 1,100 workers have been deployed round the clock to restore normal operations. The railway has mobilised a boulder special train, ballast rake, Unimat and Duomatic track maintenance machines, eight poclain excavators and 12 JCB machines for the restoration exercise. Special labour trains are transporting personnel to the inaccessible work sites, while workers have been provided with raincoats, gumboots, accommodation and meals to enable uninterrupted operations despite continuous rainfall.Apart from clearing debris and rebuilding the track formation, engineers are undertaking long-term slope stabilisation measures to improve safety. These include constructing gabion retaining walls along vulnerable slopes, restoring damaged Canadian rockfall fencing, carrying out rock bolting to secure unstable rock faces and filling 40 to 45 metres of washed-out embankment to strengthen the track foundation before the remaining lines are reopened. Railway officials said services will continue to be regulated until all three lines are restored and declared safe for normal operations.